Iraq is taking a major step toward complete fuel independence. Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad announced that the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) project at the South Refineries Company (SRC) in Basra will officially launch this Saturday. Once it starts operating, Iraq will finally be self-sufficient in petrol and other key oil products.
The Minister explained that when the current government took office less than three years ago, Iraq was importing about $5 billion worth of petroleum products every year. But that’s changing fast.
Thanks to major upgrades at local refineries and an increase of about 450,000 barrels per day in refining capacity—almost double what it used to be—Iraq has already achieved self-sufficiency in diesel and kerosene.
Even petrol imports have dropped sharply, from 12,000 cubic meters a day to just 4,000 cubic meters. Once the new FCC project begins production, those remaining imports will be replaced entirely by locally produced high-octane fuel, meaning Iraq will no longer need to import petrol at all.
The Minister noted that the FCC unit will produce high-octane 95+ petrol, one of the best fuel grades available globally. He called the project a huge leap forward for Iraq’s refining industry and a major step toward energy independence.
“This achievement,” he said, “is part of the government’s broader effort to improve essential services and deliver real results for the Iraqi people.”
